Hair-waving device



y 18, 1954 w. J. CIELESZ 2,678,653

HAIR-WAVING DEVICE Filed July 29, 1952 FICLE) 5o 25 26 51 52 1 9 11 12 Q/j j/li 6O INVENTOR WALTER J. CIELESZ ATTORNEY Patented May 18, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAlR-WAVING DEVICE Walter J. Cielesz, Perth Amboy, N. J.

Application July 29, 1952, Serial No. 3011529- Claims. (01. 132-37) This invention relates to a novel device for the permanent curling or waving of hair.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of a rod curler which is particularly adapted to make a Croquignole wave. a wave that is made by winding hair cylindrically on a mandrel or rod and heating the wound hair while under tension.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact device of durable construction which incorporates a variety of safety features, whereby it is particularly adaptable for home use by those unskilled in the art.

The use of electrically heated devices for the permanent curling of hair has been generally confined to those skilled in the art because of the complex, expensive apparatus required and the great care demanded to safely administer a permanent wave. The curler of this invention enables the unskilled to administer a professional appearing permanent wave to the entire hair or to make replacement curls.

Prior art methods for making Croquignole waves have generally required the winding of sections of hair on a plurality of mandrel or rod members, locking and stretching each section of wound hair in a spacer clamp resting on the scalp, and applying heat to the tensioned, wound hair. Each clamp has a pawl mounted thereon to engage a ratchet gear mounted on each rod to prevent the accidental unwinding of the hair. Tension is applied to the hair by turning the rod against the grip of the clamps. Heat is supplied by a complex electrical unit external to the rod.

An object of the invention is the incorporation of an electrical heater within the rod curler. This is particularly advantageous for a curler to be used by unskilled users since the number of operating parts to be handled is reduced and because of the increased safety inherent in elimihating the manipulating of an electrical heating unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the curler may be applied to the section of hair to be curled when the curler is either hot or cold. This is particularly desirable for home use and for the making of replacement curls at home or by professionals both for reasons of safety and because one curler may be used without necessitating the user to wait for the curler to cool before applying to another section of hair. Prior art methods generally necessitated cold application of the rod curler because the manually operated parts themselves became heated upon application of heat to the hair.

Another object of the invention is to provide a curler composed of two compact, long-lasting members which are essentially unaffected and unharmed by use.

Still another and further important object of the invention is the incorporation in a rod curler of a novel leaf spring to confine the hair to be wound. This leaf spring may be manipulated whether hot or cold, unlike prior art hair'holders for the purpose which require cold application to the hair.

Further important objects of the invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and from the following specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a. side elevational view of the electrically heated rod member and clamp member of the invention in their relative operating position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rod member and the clamp member in their relative operating position.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the clamp.

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are sectional views through the structure of. Fig. 1 showing the ratchet mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 10 generally indicates the electrically heated rod curler member of the invention and H generally indicates a conventional spacer clamp for hold ng and tensioning the hair wound on red Hi.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the figures, rod l0 includes a tube 12 of heat conducting material, preferably a lightweight metal such as aluminum. Disc or flange l3 having recess l4 therein is mounted near the free end of tube 12, as by set screw l5, leaving a trunnion I6 at the remote end of the tube 12. Disc l3 could be made integral with tube l2 without departing from the spirit of the invention. Concentric tube I! is partially slid over tube [2 near the opposite end of tube 12 and is rigidly secured thereto, as by pressing. Alternately a lock screw may be used to secure the tubes together. Flange [9 having ratchet teeth distributed on its outer periphery, for the purpose to be described, is rigidly mounted onto that end of tube 11 which overlies tube I2 and is locked thereon, as by a set screw (not shown). Alternately, flange 19 could be threaded onto tube I! and locked against reverse movement by flanging the end of tube H. An adhesive or weld could be used to station the gear. A handle 23 of heat resistant material such as Bakelite or hard wood, is rigidly secured near the 3 end of tube I! as by set screw 24. Slot 2| (illustrated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5) is made on the inner surface of flange l9 and a slot 22 is cut on that portion of tube H which is adjacent slot 2|, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, for the purpose to be described.

Hair to be curled is held between disc I3 and flange Is by the broader tongue portion of tension spring 25 that extends longitudinally over rod l0 between disc l3 and flange I9. The end of the tongue of tension spring 25 is adapted to be wedged and locked in recess M of disc l3, whereby hair is firmly held between the tension spring 25 and the rod H). The tongue of tension spring 25 in its flexed position is shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 4. The opposite and na'r rower end of spring 25 passes through slot 2| in flange l9 and into slot 22 at the end of tube and out to an opening in push button 26, in which it is rigidly positioned, as by set screw 21. 2| is cut somewhat smaller than the tongue of tension spring 25 whereby the shoulders of the tongue of tension spring 25 restrict movement of spring 25 through slot 2| and slot 22. Push button 26 is preferably made of a heat resistant material such as Bakelite, although it may be made of a metal with a tip insert of heat resistant composition.

The heating element in the core of tube l2 and the adjacent portion of tube U-shaped coil of fine resistance wire 30 suitably insulated. Leads, insulated by a porcelain jacket, extend from the resistance coil 39 to contact within tube an electric cord 33. Electric cord 33 runs through handle 23 and has a plug which may be connected to a suitable source of current, suitably a 110 volt wall plug. For added safety the leads may be extended to run through the handle 23 and contact the electric cord 33 within the handle 23. A screw plug seals the end of tube l2; an insulating material may be used in place of the screw plug to seal the tube.

A simplified construction of the rod curler (not illustrated), is constructed with tube integral with tube 2. In such an embodiment of the invention flange I9 is mounted on tube |2 by welding, an adhesive, a set screw, or the like. The connection of the heating coil 30 to the porcelain jacketed leads is within tube l2 between flange l9 and handle 23. tween leads and electric cord 33 may be made within handle 23 for added safety to the user.

The heating unit in that embodiment of the invention in which partially overlying tubes are removably secured may be more conveniently repaired than in the unitary tube structure above described because tubes I2 and H may be easily opened at their juncture.

Rod curler [G is supported. by spacer clamp H which is suitably dimensioned to hold the rod. It is to be understood that the spacer clamp may be subject to a multiplicity of variations well known in the art, without'departing from the scope of the invention. Spacer clamp I|, illustrated in Fig. 3, includes rubber jacketed jaw members 35 and 35 which are connected with each other at extending end portions between spaced plates 31 by rivet 39 and pivot pin 43. Pivotally connected to jaw 35 at its free end by pivot pin 4| is a clamp arm 43 which comprises spaced plates. A clamp lever 45 is pivotally connected between the free ends of the plates by pin 46. Lever 45 includes a cam 4! positioned adjacent pin 45. When lever 45 is pulled towards jaw 36, cam 41 engages tip 48 of jaw 36 and tip Slot |'| includes a The connection be- 48 is wedged between the plates of clamp arm 43. This locks jaws 35 and 36 in clamped relation upon the hair.

Bifurcated bridges 49 and 50 on clamp II are adapted to receive and support curler rod I!) by providing rests for trunnion H3 and for that section of tube I! which is adjacent gear I9 and are suitably dimensioned to journal that portion of the rod which they are to receive. .Vhen tubes i2 and H are constructed integrally the bridges 49 and 50 are identical. Bridge 49 is integral with and bent at a right angle to clamp arm 43; in like manner bridge 50 is integral with and bent at a right angle to plate 31. When the clamp is locked bridges 49 and 5!! lie parallel to each other and at right angles to the jaws 35 and 36 which act to space the bridges.

Teeth 60 are gripped by S-shaped pawl 5| of clamp as is best illustrated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Leaf springs 54 and 55 are riveted to each other and to pawl 5| by rivets 52 and 53. Leaf spring 54 is an arc riveted to plate 3'! by rivet 39 which also joins plate 3'! to jaw 35. Leaf spring 55 lies substantially perpendicular to plate 3? and has a free end immediately thereabove. The upper free end of pawl 5| is bent outwardly to facilitate its release by the fingers and its lower free end is inwardly bent to engage the teeth 60. Other methods, which are well known in the art, for mounting the pawl on the clamp may be used.

In operation a section of hair is pushed through the longitudinal slot of a protecting pad to a position generally adjacent the scalp. Clamp [I is placed on opposite sides of this protected lock of hair, and clamp jaws 35 and 35 are locked upon the hair by pulling lever 45 towards aw 35. A protecting flannel cloth is preferably placed adjacent the free end of the section of hair which is tucked under tension spring 25 while it is flexed by pushing button 26 toward disc l3. Hair is locked on rod curler ||l between flange l9 and disc |3 by releasing push button 26 to straighten the tongue of tension spring 25 to a position immediately above and parallel with tube i2. Handle 23 is rotated on its longitudinal axis to wind the section of hair between flange I9 and disc l3 in cylindrical manner until trunnion hi and that section of rod immediately adjacent flange l9 fall into bridges 49 and 50, respectively, of spacer clamp When the rod is suitably journaled in the bridges, handle 23 is further rotated in the hair winding direction to tension the hair. Tension is maintained and accidental unwinding of the hair is prevented by engagement of pawl 5| in ratchet teeth 60. Before winding, chemical waving solutions may be applied by pads or the like to the section of hair to be Wound. The current is turned on by connecting the cord 33 to a wall plug and heat is applied to the wound, tensioned hair for the required time. For example, when resistance coil 30 is constructed to have an output of 22 watts, approximately five to eight minutes is needed to give the desired permanency to the curl. The exact time, which varies principally with the chemical solutions used and with the texture of. the hair of the individual, must be experimentally determined by making test curls. The tension may then be decreased by pressing the outwardly lying tip of pawl 5|. This releases the grip of -ratchet teeth 60 and rod I6 is removed from the bridges of spacer clamp The hair is then uncoiled and tension spring 25 is released by pushing button 26 in the direction away from disc I3, to permit removal of the hair from the curler. The hair may also be conveniently uncoiled by opening clamp lever s5 and pushing handle 2'23 towards disc l3.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail it will be understood that these details need not strictly adhered to that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

W hat I claim is:

1. An electrically heated rod adapted to be rotatably supported by a spacer clamp, a flange on said rod, a slot extending through said flange, a leaf spring member having a tongue portion overlying said rod, means on the end of said rod for gripping an end of said tongue, and an extension on the other end of said tongue slidably mounted in the slot in said flange and projecting therethrough, whereby the manual sliding of the extension of said tongue towards the flange bows the tongue of the leaf spring.

2. A hair curler comprising an electrically heated rod, a spacer clamp supporting said rod and having a pawl thereon, a ratchet gear on said rod for engagement with said pawl, an inner peripheral slot extending through the length of said gear, a flange near an end of said rod, a leaf spring member having a tongue portion longitudinally overlying said rod between the inner faces of said gear and said flange for confining hair therebetween, means on said flange for engaging the free end of said tongue, shoulders on the extremity of the tongue adjacent the inner face of said gear having a greater lateral dimension the width of the slot in the gear, and an extension of said tongue slidably mounted in the slot and projecting therethrough, whereby the manual sliding of said extension towards said gear actuates the bowing of the tongue of said leaf spring.

3. An electrically heated rod adapted to be rotatably supported by a spacer clamp, a gear on said rod, an inner peripheral slot extending the length of said gear, a flange near an end of said rod, a recess in the inner face of said flange aligned with said slot in the gear, a leaf spring member having a relatively broad tongue portion and a narrower extension, said tongue portion overlying said rod longitudinally between the inner faces of said flange and said gear for confining hair therebetween, said tongue having a width greater than the width of said slot in said gear, the free end of said tongue being suitably dimensioned to wedge in said recess in said flange, and the extension slidably mounted in the slot in the gear and projecting therethrough, whereby the manual sliding of the extension of said tongue towards the flange bows the tongue of the leaf spring.

4. The curler in claim 3 including a heat resistant handle on the end of said rod opposite the flanged end, a recess in the surface of said handle, a heat resistant knob terminating said extension of said leaf spring having a surface aligned with and contoured to rest in said recess of said handle, the extension of said spring being of such a length that the tongue substantially overlies the rod when said knob rests in said recess in the handle.

5. An electrically heated rod adapted to be rotatably supported by spacer clamp, comprising a principal tube, a secondary tube partially slid thereover and secured thereto, an electrical heating unit within said tubes, a gear overlying a juncture of said tubes, an inner peripheral slot through the length of said gear, a flange near the free end of said principal tube, a recess in the inner face of said flange aligned with said slot in said gear, a leaf spring member having a relatively broad tongue and a narrower extension, said tongue longitudinally overlying said principal tube between the inner faces of said flange and said gear for confining hair therebetween, the free end of said tongue being suitably dimensioned to wedge in the recess in the flange, and the extension of said tongue being suitably dimensioned to slide through the groove in the gear and project therethrough, whereby the manual sliding of the extension of said leaf spring towards said gear bows the tongue of the leaf spring between the inner faces of the gear and the flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,331,578 Sterling Oct. 12, 1943 2,344,908 Whitman Mar. 21, 1944 

